Lorraine Berkshire-Roe – portfolio

Contact the artist

https://www.lorraineberkshire-roe.co.uk

yohanhilda[at]yahoo.co.uk

Exhibition information

My artweeks exhibition this year is all about celestial bodies. I had the idea of using constellations at my theme for the Inktober daily prompt drawing challenge in October 2025, where most of the illustrations in this exhibition come from. Constellations do feature heavily in these works, but it was limiting to just stick to those long-recognised patterns of stars in the night sky, and in the end I broadened the remit to include the whole of the celestial sphere and anything that exists within it. 

This includes mythological explanations for astronomical occurrences, purely scientific facts and explanations, fanciful imaginings and some humorous takes on the subject. I have included a handful of illustrations from older Inktober campaigns, because these were the illustrations that made me realise that astronomy and astrology were subjects that continue to fascinate, and have in fact done so for a long time.

I do love the thought that humans have been looking up at the sky for countless millennia and have seen the same patterns as we do now, though there have been multitudes of  different explanations for the same stars. We will never see this ourselves, but in a few million years, any sentient beings left on this planet will not be seeing the same patterns of stars as we do now, as things are always moving. I don’t think I made that up, though as I’m not quite sure of the time scale.

It is a certainty that the navigational guides, comforting saucepans and shooting stars of our age will be but a tiny sliver on the timeline of when things began. Nothing is certain, but for now, if I go outside, I am pretty sure that the comforting saucepan will still be there if it’s a clear night. 

 

 

 

 

 

Artist information

I am an illustrator and I live in Oxford, UK I use pen and ink to produce original illustrations. I have an active sense of wonder about the natural world and I like to draw animals, buildings and maps. Sometimes my illustrations are factual and sometimes they have a slant of magical realism or mythology. I like to try and think how I can illustrate a subject from a slightly different viewpoint or combine two realistic, but not quite matching things to make something new.

I use these illustrations to make prints and useful everyday items and I also accept commissions. I have been learning the art of ceramics and I make illustrated bowls, beakers, realistic food items and small, hand-built sculptures.

I have developed a series of sketchbook journal workshops which are proving very popular and are all about being creative, banishing perfectionism and all about doing something positive and absolutely necessary for general well-being. 

In 2024 I finally found myself in the position to have the time required to be a self-employed illustrator again and started this new chapter of my artistic life in September 2024.

I spent the previous 9 years developing my illustration work in my sketchbooks and the last 3-4 years taking part in the Inktober drawing challenge which really helped me to build my new body of work and develop my style. During that time I had a stall in a couple of Christmas art fairs each year, and gradually increased this over the last 2 years. .

I now regularly attend art markets and fairs with my art wares all year round in Oxford and further afield. You can find out which events I have coming up in my ‘events’ section.

I accept commissions and if you would like to discuss the possibility of a commission then please email me and we can talk about what is possible.